Hundreds killed in Brazil nightclub fire

The blaze at the Kiss
nightclub in Santa Maria killed at least 233 people, Brazilian Health
Minister Alexandro Padilha told reporters. Many of them apparently died
from smoke inhalation, state-run Agencia Brasil reported. Others were
trampled in the rush for the exits, one security guard told CNN affiliate Band News.

More than 90 people were hospitalized, Padilha said, including 14 patients with severe burns.

About 2,000 people were
inside the club when the fire broke out -- double the maximum capacity
of 1,000, said Guido de Melo, a state fire official.

Investigators have received preliminary information that security guards stopped people from exiting the club, he told Globo TV.

"This overcrowding made
it difficult for people to leave, and according to the information we
have, the security guards kept people from leaving the building," he
said.

The fire started "from
out of nowhere" on a stage at the club and quickly spread to the
ceiling, witness Jairo Vieira told Band News.